Tuesday, April 2, 2013

AND SO IT BEGINS………

Tonight, in front of what is sure to be a loud, raucous and
joyfully expectant crowd, the Toronto Blue Jays officially begin their quest to
fulfill the expectations that have been heaped on them since pitchers and
catchers reported to Florida back in February. Tonight, a guaranteed sell-out
crowd will welcome with open arms the team that has ignited a buzz not felt north
of the border since the spring of 1993. All the preparation, all the
speculation and all the expectation comes to a head in a mere few hours.
Tonight, “it” begins.

In a trade that many compared to the ground-breaking reformation
of the Toronto Blue Jays back in December of 1990, when a young kid named
Alomar and a guy who had worn out his welcome in San Diego named Carter were
brought in, the face of a franchise was altered again back in November. A 12-player
deal that seemingly came out of nowhere catching everyone off-guard (including
the commissioner of Major League Baseball, Bud Selig) turned what was
considered another bridesmaid in the American League East Division into a
serious, odds-on early World Series favourite.

At the heartbreaking core of the deal, if you were to ask Florida
Marlin fans, was the 29 year-old, 4 time All-Star and clear-cut anchor up the
middle at shortstop, Jose Reyes.

The immediate addition to the offensive speed of the Blue
Jays is what should be the biggest upside to Reyes. Being a fan of watching
teams win games on the base-paths I look forward to the season-long excitement
of a team that knows how and when to run.

While Reyes was the spotlight of the deal, there were a
couple other guys who came along for the ride that had a significant impact on
their chosen positions within the ranks of the Blue Jays. In 2012 the Blue Jays
starting pitching staff was a work in progress and looked like it would be a
few years before anyone needed to consider them even slightly threatening. If
nothing else, the stability brought to the 2013 starting line-up would make any
Jays fan breathe a little easier.

Josh Johnson has played his entire career for the Florida
Marlins, he has attended a couple All-Star games and has gone about his
business rather unassumingly, with a K to BB ratio that would make any manager
happy.

When you look at your number 3 or 4 starter you want someone
you can count on to deliver consistency and reign in the walks. Johnson has
delivered that in the past and should continue to do so.

The other arm that Toronto acquired was a player I have
admired for quite some time, mostly what I have admired about Mark Buehrle was
his ability to eat up innings as a starter. Which, when it comes to pitching in
Toronto, is not such a bad trait to have.

A 4-time All-Star and 4-time Golden Glove winner, who still
has a few years left to give, brings 13 years of experience and a veteran
leadership quality to a pitching staff that was clearly in way over its head
last year.

For most teams, such a blockbuster deal would have been
enough to bring optimism and chatter of contention to their fan base. However,
when it comes to Alex Anthopoulos there never seems to be a point where there
is “enough”. Roughly 1 month later the Toronto Blue Jays made headlines again
when they announced the acquisition of a reigning Cy Young champion. A player
whose career had been one of the best feel-good stories of 2012. A player whose
chosen pitch is guaranteed to make him and the Toronto Blue Jays a much talked
about entity in 2013.

On December 18th, the Toronto Blue Jays broke
more hearts (this time Mets fans) when they traded for knuckleballer R.A.Dickey.

When it comes to pitchers who throw the knuckleball it is
definitely a career lengthening pitch. However, as the story goes, it is a
pitch that can leave you as quickly as it found you. According to those more
well versed in speculation than I, R.A. Dickey has a different ability with the
knuckleball than most, which will make being a fan of the Blue Jays an
enjoyable watch for 2013.

With all the good that has transpired this spring for the
Toronto Blue Jays this post would not be complete without a mention of one of
the more upsetting stories, personally. In the second half of 2012, everyone
witnessed the complete and utter breakdown of Ricky Romero, my favourite Blue
Jay by far. After starting the season 9-1 and looking like 2012 would be
another step towards true pitching Ace status, EVERYTHING went wrong. Ricky
finished the season 0-13. Speculation that he should have been shut down, that
he could not handle the weight of being the “staff ace” and that he simply “lost
his stuff” continued throughout the off-season.

Rightly so, Ricky Romero failed to make the trek north with
the 2013 version of a team that inspired hope and speculation among fans.
Rightly so, Ricky Romero will be tasked with altering his mechanics and finding
the pitcher that he was from 2009 through the first half of 2012. I’m convinced
enough of this that I drafted Ricky Romero to my Fantasy Baseball roster. I’m
confident he will come back physically, mentally and emotionally stronger than
ever. I’m also confident he will come back to a team that will be contenders
all year long for the American League Championship.

Either way, this is has been a great spring to be a Toronto
Blue Jays fan, and this will be an even better season to be one as well.

1 comment:

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